SNOW DAY

Yep, big shocker but we actually had snow for the second December in a row in South Mississippi.  It was less of a shock that it came just days after having 70 degree weather and preceeded what seemed to be ENDLESS rain.  Thankfully we all know what the Lord promised Noah so we knew at some point it would end!!  I did not get Arden out in the snow because she had a runny nose and because she can't walk yet but Cash and Alese had a good time.  We built a small snowman on the deck complete with a carrot nose, skittles for his eyes and mouth.  He even had a do-rag and a "scarf" but before he could get a name or even begin to melt for that matter, Cash had decapitated him!!! Poor snowman, nothing is safe around Cash, not even the snow! :)  It was so much fun making memories with them.  Daddy was in the deer woods missing it all and freezing to death I am sure.

The Princess Turns 1!! Where did the time go?

Wow!! It hardly seems like it has been a year since my little princess was born.  What a year of wonderful blessings she has been!!  I thought when I was pregnant with her that it would be easier if I just had another boy, after all Cash was not even 2 and all of his clothes were so close at hand.  My brothers surely have enough girls and Cash did not need to be the only boy at Papa and Gigi's house.  I had it all figured out until I heard Dr. Missy say "it's a she baby" just as Patrick was saying "it's a little girl".  Hmmmm....I had not planned on a little girl but I sure was glad to get my hands on her.  She has deepend my love more than I thought possible and on November 14th we celebrated her 1st birthday!! 

She was all dolled up in her petticoat that I bought just for the big occassion and she was beautiful in it.  We had a family party with a few close friends over.  There was not really a "theme", just a big cupcake cake and lots of pink!!  Arden's Gigi made her first cake that she thoroughly enjoyed :).  Thank you Gigi for making Arden's cake even though you work all the time!! Everyone had  a great time and just as little Princess was finishing her cake up, she let me  know real quick that it was nap time for her. 

Just some funnies.....

Part of my reason for blogging was to keep up with all the humor that rapidly rolls out of Cash's mouth so I typically just jot them down until I can get them on here.  There are quite a few and I will start with the most recent, these have all been said with in the last two weeks.  Actually last night when he and Arden were taking a bath Cash said "I got a pecker and did baby's pecker fall off?" HAHAHAHAHA You uptight people know that is funny so just laugh!!  Yesterday while we were watching Dora, the "grumpy old troll" came out and Dora said "look it's the grumpy old troll" and Cash said "hey look there's my daddy!!!"  I never want to forget that one!! That still has me laughing. 

Cash came in from the yard last week to tell me that Mr. Mike (the yard man) "has a scar on him's eye just like my lip, bless his heart!" Ha.  I am sure he heard that one from mommy.  This will be a post that I just add to.  Maybe one day I can actually sit down and "decorate" this thing! Ha!! Love to all!

Rocking Out.....

I have some catching up to do and I won't do it all tonight but I do have some pictures to share of Cash's first concert experience. Jason Aldean, who is a favorite among me and the chilluns came to Hattiesburg about a month ago and I promised Alese if she made the honor roll that she could go with me and Cash. Yah for her, she kept up her end of the deal and I was very proud of her!! Now I already knew that Alese and I would be screaming, dancing, singing the whole time but I was not sure how Cash would react. He LOVES music as much as I do but a concert is an entire other situation then jamming out in his carseat. He was very guarded, actually would not let me put him down for a long time, he wanted me to walk him around on my shoulders, let him take it all in. He wanted to buy his first concert shirt, which of course we did. As JA would sing and play the guitar Cash would just stare, very mundane looking and would barely even blink. It was as if he was in awe of what was happening. He finally after saying nothing for the longest time looked at me and said "I gone do that when I get big"!!! WOO HOO, he already has the name for it!!! Alese and her little friend Madison had a great time and a very big thanks to my sweet friend Joy for going with us and for holding Cash some for me, you'd have thought the kid could not walk that night. Lots of memories made!! The next night Cash took his t-ball stand, stuck a bat out the top, strapped on his guitar and put on his cowboy hat and had a concert for us! It was very entertaining!!!

Our Future Rocker??

Last night me and Cash watched parts of the CMA's.  I apparantly have ADD because I can not sit through anything in it's duration.  While we were watching he said "when I get big, I'm gone (gonna) do that".  He was watching them sing and play the guitar and he said that to me several times.  That was after he thought Daughtry was Pastor Tony.  That was the best part of the night.  He said "I know that guy, he's our preacher".  I actually have friends who have said to me " your preacher looks like Daughtry"! ha.

I really want Cash to learn to play the guitar or piano or banjo or violin or fiddle or something....You get the idea.  Maybe going to his first concert tonight will inspire him for sure! :)  Pictures to come later!  Jason Aldean here we come!

Happy Birthday to my sweet little darling baby girl, Arden Caroline!!!  One year ago today at 7:18 a.m. my life was once again forever changed.  Arden is the sweetest baby in the world.  Her Uncle Jason kept her this weekend and he said "Arden does not know how to cry". Ha.  He is right, she is always smiling, always happy and lights up every room she is in.  What a glimpse of heaven she is to our family.  For her birthday we had homemade cupcakes for breakfast, a tradition here for my kiddos.  She demolished it in literally 15 seconds and when she finished and got down she ate the crumbs off the floor, seriously!!  Cash thought it was fun so he dug his hands in too.  Her party is Saturday so I will post more pics then but thought I would share this one now!  Happy 1st Birthday Princess.  Mommy loves you more than you know!

Stitches Are Out!!

Cash got his stitches out on Friday afternoon.  God Bless Dr. Richardson for suffering through that!  He was quite the trooper while they were being put in but Dr. Patterson did prepare me for the fact that removal would not be so easy! He was right!!  We have been advised to take him to a plastic surgeon and have them take a look at it to be sure it is healing well and properly since it was such a bad cut.  I will be taking him this week sometime. 

Alese, Cash and Arden went to the farm for the weekend with their Papa and Gigi, I am pretty sure they would live there permantly if I would let them, at least Cash would I know.  He always comes home stinking like a farm hand and yesterday was NO exception.  In fact I usually put extra soap in the wash and rinse twice! Ha!  I have experience in this department from washing my daddy's and brothers clothes growing up.  When I asked Cash about all he did he gave me the run down as he usually does.  They "ride tractors, feed cows, drive the truck, fix stuff at the barn and Papa give jason's horse a shot!"  I asked him if saw Mr. Shelton and his response was so sweet, "yeah, I love him".  Mr.  Shelton has worked for my dad for a hundred years and he and his family are just part of the family. 

Today while running a few errands Cash asked me where River (the dog) was at.  I told him that River was at the vet getting his stitches out.  A few minutes later he said "we got lot of bo bo's.  I got stitches, River got stitches, Papa got bobo on his arm, Daddy got bobo on his arm and baby got bobo on her nose."  How observant of him!!!!

Well I must end for now...I am about to go start baking cupcakes for Arden to have for her birthday breakfast.  It is tradition here that I bake cupcakes with homemade cream cheese icing for breakfast on birthday's!  Alese is with her mom this week so we will drop her one off at school to have for snack so she won't be left out.  I am realllllly dreading my baby turning 1.  Where does the time go that God has blessed me with??  Love to all of you.

God is our Protector

I have held on to this for a couple of days not sure if I wanted to share it or not and after having a little time to process it and to praise our Lord for His wonderful protection, I feel it should be shared.  For those of you that know me well you know a few little useless facts about me.  I am emotional, sentimental, adore my children and I love music.  These "useless facts" all have a place in this blog so bear with me please!  Some of my cherished belongings are those that belonged to my grandparents.  I have an old sewing maching, my granny's thimble, a knife that was Pappy's, etc.....I have often thought to myself if my house ever caught on fire what would I grab (obviously besides my children) because some of these beloved "treasures" can not be replaced.  My Pappy's house burned down (his 2nd house fire in his long life) in 1998 and sometimes I think about something that belonged to my grandmother that I wish someone had.  Something happened here this week that had me so emotionally shaken that the sentimental part of me seemed so unimportant and worthless.  It was Wednesday and Cash had just finished lunch and Arden was in her chair finishing hers.  We were moving in the direction of nap time but while I cleaned up the table Cash was riding his tricycle around the house.  All of a sudden I heard what sounded like something being moved across the floor and as I turned around to see what it was my heart fell to my stomach!  It actually seemed to be happening slow but I had to act fast.  What I, as well as Cash, was seeing was the top hutch part of my Pappy's china cabinet sliding slowly off to the floor.  Cash was on his tricycle RIGHT in front of it.  I was almost within arms reach of him so I quickly stretched out and grabbed the front of his tricycle.  I realized that I was about out of time so I got on the floor and put my hands over his head.  The fact that I was about to loose a lot of very sentimental "possessions" had already left my mind and was not important anymore.  I remember saying Lord please protect my son.  As the hutch finally came to a stop I was so shaken I could not move.  My counter, that a few years ago was not even there(we remodeled) had stopped this big, heavy hutch from falling on top of Cash.  The counter stopped it from completely hitting the floor?  No not exactly, God's hand stopped it from hitting the floor which would have fallen on us.  As it stopped and Cash and I were underneath one side of it, all of my grandmother's crystal came flying out of the doors and glass began shattering everywhere, including on our heads!!  I consider myself a calm person, especially when it comes to being calm for my kids and although I was not "freaking" out I was visibly shaken and literally shaking.  Cash and I both were crying.  We stood up and shook glass out of our heads and hair and immediately began praising God our Protector!!!!  It was nothing but a "God thing" and no one can fully understand the reality of what happened here Wednesday.  Maybe my neighbor and his friend because they were sweet enough to help me get the china cabinet out of the house.  It took me over 4 hours to get the mess cleaned up and I never once felt sad about loosing my precious possesions.  All I could do was say over and over thank you Jesus.  I have 8 pieces of my grandmother's crystal that did not break, I praise Jesus for those 8 pieces.  I have a bowl that my great Uncle Hollis gave me, it belonged to my great grandmother, it has not a scratch on it and there were a few other pieces that I am thankful for.  Every time I look at them I will be reminded of what God did, of what is really important in life.  My children are my life, they are the greatest gift God could ever loan me and I cherish them all the time, even the hissy fits! ha. Arden could have been crawling around and been in harms way but she was being a little piggie and was still eating,  this could have been so much worse but it wasn't and I am thankful!!   Mercy Me is one of my favorite groups and they have a song that ran through my head as I was cleaning glass up and I kept singing it in praise.  All that is within me cries, For You alone be glorified: Emmanuel, God with us.  Lord, You know--- our hearts don't deserve Your glory; Still You show--- a love we cannot afford.  Like hinges straining from the weight, my heart no longer can keep from singing.  All that is within me cries for You alone be glorified:  Emmanuel, God with us!   He showed Himself to me Wednesday in a very powerful way.  I praise God for our protection, for only a bruise on my hip, for not a scratch on Cash and for the "sentimental possesions" that survived the "storm"!  God is our Protector!

I need to add that the reason the china cabinet fell is because the leg was broken and we did not know it.  It finally just gave out.  You can see it in the first picture.  Sorry I did not make that clear! :)

Update

Here is a quick update on Daddy before I crash.  His heart procedure went well today.  The doctor seems to think he got the problem resolved and maybe this will give daddy some relief.  He comes home tomorrow from the hospital and the real challenge begins, RELAXING! ha. 

I also wanted to tell a funny story.  For those of you that know the Ard's well, you know we are very sarcastic people.  Even my sweet mama has hung around to long and it has worn off on her.  Yesterday when the nurse was talking to mama about daddy's "sleep apneia" (not sure if that is spelled right) he asked her "how bad is it, does he snore bad?"  Of course she is laughing and said "Yes he snores loud".  He then asked her "does he ever stop breathing?"  She kind of chuckled and said "well I guess not for to long because he always wakes up in the mornings!" Ha!  Very true Mama!!

Prayers for Papa

Tommorow my daddy, aka Papa, is having another heart procedure done.  He has atrial fibulation and has had quite a tough time with it the last couple of years.  I took him just over a month ago for them to "shock" it and it did not work.  Tomorrow makes about the 5th procedure.  Tonight when Cash and I were having prayer time we prayed for Daddy.  I always ask him who he wants to pray for and sometimes I tell him who we are gonna pray for.  Tonight I told him "we need to pray for Papa".  I began, "Lord Jesus please be with Papa and help his heart to get better so him and Cash can ride tractors."  Cash quickly said "yeah Jesus we need to move dirt!"  I chuckled out loud at that!  The last time Cash went to the farm he spent the ENTIRE day with daddy on the farm.  They had to move some dirt at some point in the day among other things..... 

I will post an update when I get back from Jackson because I also have something else I want to share that happened today but I am mentally fatigued now and it is to important to risk not expressing the importance of what God did on the James Journey today.....He is good, He is faithful...

With a Name like Cash....

You have to expect a scar somewhere on the face, right?  Good thing because Cash officially got his first set of "accident" stitches today.  He has stitches in his eye when he was a baby from surgery but this morning bright and early, 6:30 to be exact he fell and hit his lip just right on the footboard of my bed.  Now up until this morning I have always said that he bounces when he falls, this morning, not so much bouncing going on but a whole lot of bleeding.  It was quite disgusting and as soon as he looked up at me I said "okay buddy you are gonna have to get some stitches in that let me get my clothes on."  He really was bleeding bad so since we only live 2 blocks from the hospital I let him ride in the front seat with me.  It was cold outside so I turned on his seat warmer and buckled him in.   When we approached the hospital he said "I not go in there Mommy, I don't want to go in the hospital Mommy".  I told him that the doctors worked in the hospital and that the hospital is where the doctors took him and baby out of my tummy and they were nice and helped people.  He seemed okay with that.  When we got in the "trauma" room he told the nurse "I got nother(another) teeth".  She thought he had hurt his teeth and kept trying to figure out what he was talking about and at that point so was I.  When Dr. Patterson came in he told him the same thing "I got nother teeth".  Then it hit me, he had some plastic orange teeth he got for Halloween.  I have no idea what made him think of them at that exact moment but it was funny just the same.  He was a trooper throughout the experience.  He never cried until the very last stitch, he laid very still and he even belted out a big chuckle when I started talking to him about River (our dog) having stitches too and having to wear a blue "sock" on his foot.  He looks pretty yuck, he has a fat lip for sure but he has been mastering drinking and eating out of the side of his mouth pretty well.  The part he remembers the most is that he got to ride in the front seat.  I told him that was a secret but he sure keeps telling it! :) ha ha!! 

Arden's First Halloween

We celebrated Arden's first Halloween with some friends of Patrick's from highschool.  They live just up the street in another subdivision and all the kids had a great time!!!  It started with a hayride, not just any old hayride either I may add.  It was a rather large trailer decorated with flashing Halloween lights all around the top, complete with a well stocked cooler for the kids and parents alike! :)  It took Cash a while to warm up because I had to wake him up from a nap to leave but he had a great time trick or treating and said "thank you" to everyone that gave him candy!!  He was a fireman, a fire chief to be exact and Arden Caroline was a flower.  The most adorable flower you have ever seen!  Alese spent the evening with her family in Sumrall but hopefully I can get some pics of her to share too.  After the hayride(the very long hayride) we went back for gumbo, burgers, chicken wings and all the sweets your tummy could handle.  Did I mention white chocolate bread pudding??? Um, yeah!!! :)  Good stuff, thanks to Michael McElroy!  Earlier today Cash, Arden and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings to have lunch and catch the first half of the Southern Miss game and Cash insisted on wearing his costume.  He was so cute and fit right in with all the staff dressed up.  When we were heading home we saw a firetruck at Lenny's so we stopped and got out for a picture session! :)  Ha, for those of you that know me, you know I am never without my camera.  While Cash was getting his picture made the firemen came out and let him get inside the truck and have his picture made.  He was so excited, I was more excited!  Thanks Mr. Firemen, you made a little firemen's day better!! :)  Now, if only we can get through the next few days with all this candy..........

...and the journey begins....

So after much thought, I have decided to start a blog for my own selfish reasons.  I have discovered that my children are comedians every day.  Since there are 3 of them and 1 of me I have found it almost impossible and exhausting to try to write down every single funny thing they say or do.  Ahh, hence the reason for this blog, it is entirely selfish, more of an "electronic journal" for myself but, being the nice and thoughtful person  I am, :)  I have chosen to share this journey with my friends and family that actually may care or have the time to take the journey with us.  I promise nothing,  it may be weeks before I post pictures etc.... I will do it at my own pace, it is MY blog after all! ha.  If you are reading this you probably enjoy my children as much as I do, so thanks for sharing these precious moments with me.  Let the journey begin.......